Department of Pinball

Department of Pinball A page for pinball tournaments in the DMV.

We held the Mega MatchPlay 200 this weekend, and wow it was everything I hoped for!Thirty two friendly and attractive pi...
05/25/2026

We held the Mega MatchPlay 200 this weekend, and wow it was everything I hoped for!

Thirty two friendly and attractive pinball players showed up in Wheaton MD for two days of pinball mayhem!

Three brand new players to the Department of Pinball joined us this weekend. Welcome to Paul Gussack, Chris Anderson, and Chris Allulis!

Sixteen games of qualifying on Saturday. PAPA style finals on Sunday, plus a separate 3-strike event. That’s a lot of pinball!

There was SO much food that you fine folks brought to share that I had to give up on listing people individually. We had pulled bbq chicken, homemade Mac n cheese, a Mediterranean pasta salad, tons of vegetables, chips, dips, bean salads and hummus, kale salad, cookies, crackers, more vegetable trays, big cheese and salami boards, more chips and salsa… I just fell into a food coma.

There was one food gift that blew my mind; our good friend and player Kim Reed sent along a homemade Rum Cake… and she wasn’t even coming to the event! Thank you Kim!

We were very well fed. 😊

By the time we got to the final game of the Finals, everything was still up for grabs. The score was 4-4-4-2. Anyone could win. And the final game was Godzilla. Perfect!

The top 8 players got paid. After all tiebreaks were played they are;

In 8th place, Francis Parks!
In 7th place, Chris Allulis!
In 6th place, Sean Smiley!
In 5th place, FL Ettlin!
In 4th place, Garrett Maury!
In 3rd place, Doru Zuba!
In 2nd place, Justin Bath!
And in 1st place, Winner and Champion of the Inaugural Mega MatchPlay 200, Matthew Mister!!

Matt wins the trophy beer mug as well! I’m so jealous! 😎

In the Sunday Post-Mega Three Strike, everyone that wasn’t in the Top 8 of the main event had one more chance at glory. And that glory was grabbed by our friend Dave Blouch (hard K) who won his first IFPA event ever today!

The top 3 players in the 3-strike got paid;
In 3rd place, Nathan Fairbanks!
In 2nd place, Dave Snyder!
And in 1st place, winning his first tournament, Dave Blouch!

Thank you to Paul Gussack for bringing us his Taxi machine to play for the weekend! Everyone enjoyed playing Taxi.

Thank you to Matt Mister and Shannon Keys for Tournament Directing the event with me. I could not do this without you two!

Thank you to Celina Malcolm for hosting us and handling the money besides!

Thank you to our Shaman Erika Sites who keeps our spirits up and leaves joy in her wake!

Biggest thanks of all go to ALL of you who continue to show up at our place to play tournament pinball! We have a fun and supportive scene happening, and I want to keep the party going. Thank you!

Our next event is on Friday June 12th, a four strike event called “RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?”

Send an email to [email protected] to get yourself on our mailing list where you will be notified when a new event opens up.

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Taxi in the house for the Mega MatchPlay 200 this weekend! Huge thanks to Paul Gussack for loaning it to us and dropping...
05/19/2026

Taxi in the house for the Mega MatchPlay 200 this weekend! Huge thanks to Paul Gussack for loaning it to us and dropping it off. It’s playing great!

Mega MatchPlay 200 is full with a short waitlist! You can add yourself here if you feel lucky: https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/244711

On Friday May 8th we held the latest iteration of RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest? RoboCop has been runnin...
05/16/2026

On Friday May 8th we held the latest iteration of RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?

RoboCop has been running away with it, but got pulled early for an intermittent right flipper, and so Walking Dead gets the W by default. And it’s not that it’s NOT deadly, it is. It’s just RoboCop is deadliest. So deadly. Dead or dead your game is dying right here.

We had our popular side event again, The Sternamint Side Ternamint! Play 5 Sterns for high score, unlimited attempts. After 4 hours, the top 4 play a one game playoff! Super fun!

The side event final game was Deadpool, chosen by Nick.
In 4th place, Jeff Helgeson!
In 3rd place, Sean Smiley!
In 2nd place, Paul Halliday!
And in 1st place, Winner of the side event, Nicholas Newln!

Over in the main event, the games were as brutal as we have come to expect. And after 14 rounds, one young man rose to the top by winning the whole thing with just one strike! Wow, nice dude!

In the main event;
In 4th place, Doru Zuba!
In 3rd place, Matthew Mister!
In 2nd place, Justin Bath !
And in 1st place, Winner and Champion of the Night, Garrett Maury!

Congratulations to all of our winners! Nicely done.

Thank you to Matt Mister for TD’ing the event! And you did it while earning 3rd place. Sweet!

Thank you to my beautiful wife Celina Malcolm for hosting our shenanigans!

OMG! Thank you to Jeff Helgeson for bringing us his homemade chili!

Thank you to Kim Reed for bringing us all her delicious homemade Rum Cake! Holy cow that was good!

And a HUGE thank you to everyone that came out to play and be a member of this pinball community. You f**kin’ rock!

Our next event is coming up fast! The Mega MatchPlay 200 is happening May 23 & 24. Register yourself right here:

https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/244711

There is also a 3-strike event on Sunday May 24th that anyone can join and play! Register for that one right here:

https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/244713

If you have any questions, or to get on our mailing list and be notified as soon as new events open up, send an email to [email protected].

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**Also pictured, the garage about to be closed up for the night, and 2 dudes that tied for 7th place. Pffft. Good looking guys though!

Registration is OPEN for this Friday May 8th! Register here in MatchPlay: https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/24481...
05/04/2026

Registration is OPEN for this Friday May 8th!
Register here in MatchPlay: https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/244813

RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?
Two of the most brutal machines ever made go head-to-head in Friday night's ultimate pinball tournament and party. Dead or alive, you are coming with us.

4 strike pinball tournament played in groups of 4.
Limited to 32 players. Prior registration is required.
Doors at 7:30 pm, tournament starts at 8pm.
Entry fee of $10 cash at the door, or prepaid through PayPal. No coin drop.
Questions may be directed to [email protected].

We are just about a month away from the Mega MatchPlay 200, and the trophy has arrived! Check this out, a functional tro...
04/24/2026

We are just about a month away from the Mega MatchPlay 200, and the trophy has arrived!

Check this out, a functional trophy mug! Decorative and useful at 15oz. The winner could bring it to other pinball events and drink out of it. It’s what I would do. What? 😁

Only 6 spots are open in the main event before we go to a waitlist. You can see event details and register yourself right here:

https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/244711

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On Friday April 10th 2026 we held the latest iteration of “RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?”, a four strik...
04/13/2026

On Friday April 10th 2026 we held the latest iteration of “RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?”, a four strike pinball tournament and party!

Thank you to Cassandra Allen for making us a cheesecake! OMFSM was that yummy! Thank you to Erika Sites who brought us drinks and treats! Thank you to Roy Mentioning Disabled for the chips! And thank you to Doru Zuba for handling the fence takedown and reassemble! Much appreciated everyone.

The Metallica Remastered high score event was won by Kevin Dadin and he takes home the handheld Q*bert arcade game. Nicely done Kevin!

The side event, “Thank You Shannon For Running the Side Event” is a high score competition on 5 modern Stern pins.

In 4th place, Nathan Fairbanks!
In 3rd place, Darren Weatherby!
In 2nd place, Erika Sites!
And winner of the side event, Jeff Helgeson!

Over in the main event, it took 15 rounds with a final game on Iron Man to decide things.

In 4th place, Garrett Maury!
In 3rd place, Francis Parks!
In 2nd place, Dave Blouche!
And in 1st place, Winner and Champion of April, Justin Allen!

A huge thank you to everyone that came out and played! It’s really great to see each and every one of you.

Thank you Celina Malcolm for hosting us!

And my deepest thanks to Tournament Directors Shannon Keys and Matthew Mister! I appreciate you!

Our next event will be May 8th 2026, the May edition of RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?

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Registration is OPEN for this Friday 4/10 at 8pm! RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?A 4-strike pinball tourn...
04/06/2026

Registration is OPEN for this Friday 4/10 at 8pm! RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?

A 4-strike pinball tournament and party! $10 entry fee, no coin drop, plus a Best Game side event! Wheaton MD, 20902.

Register through MatchPlay here: https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/243343

On Friday March 27 2026 we held our monthly tournament “RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?”25 players came o...
04/05/2026

On Friday March 27 2026 we held our monthly tournament “RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?”

25 players came out, and after 3 events, RoboCop is out to a big lead as the deadliest!

We had a side-side event again, for the highest score of the night on Metallica. Mike Sellick handily won that and took home the handheld Frogger game!

The main side event (heh) is proving to be very popular, “Thank You Shannon For Running the Side Event.” Best score across 5 modern Sterns - Led Zeppelin, Deadpool, Jurassic Park, Avengers IQ, and Godzilla - with all 5 games rolled up into one scoreboard.

The chosen final game this month was Deadpool! One of my personal favorites, and one of George Gomez’ best pins! I love a truly funny pin that is a blast to shoot besides.

At the end of the Deadpool final match, it was decided;
In 4th place, Aaron Quade!
In 3rd place, Carlos Velez!
In 2nd place, Erika Sites!!
And in 1st place, winner of the side event Doru Zuba!

Over in the main event, things just keep getting tougher! The old salts get saltier every month, and an influx of young guns makes things super competitive! We even have some “new old salts” making deep runs into the man event.

Robocop Vs The Walking Dead;
In 5th place after an incredible run, Darren Weatherby!
In 4th place, Shawn Hillman!
In 3rd place, Paul Halliday!
In 2nd place, Derek Swanson!
And in 1st place, Winner and Champion of March at the Department, Justin Bath!!

I have two couples to thank for keeping us fed and happy during this last event, holy cow this was generous!

First, huge thanks to Erika Sites and Kile Morgan! Erika brought us a bunch of treats to share, and if that wasn’t enough, Erika and Kile also purchased a stack of pizzas for the group! Thank you!

Also huge thanks go out to Kim Reed and Fred Reed! Kim hand made not one but TWO delicious Rum Cakes for us. That was some yummy-ass cake, thank you! There was a slice left for my breakfast the next morning too, which is all win. 😁

Thank you to my dear friend Matt Mister for TD’ing the event and for kicking my ass to get a big event scheduled! More on that soon.

Thank you to Shannon Keys for running the best score side event! It really rounds out the night.

Thank you to Celina Malcolm for hosting this motley crew, and for cleaning the house both before and after each event, and handling the ton of cans and bottles generated each time, and for making us coffee. Mmm coffee necessary.

And finally, thank you to EVERYONE that comes out to play in these events and party with us. It means more than you know to have such a great group of friends and players make this a regular place to play.

Our next event is coming up fast! Friday April 10th at 8pm is the next party and tournament! Registration opens on Monday 4/6 (that’s tomorrow!) at 9am and you can register here: https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/243343

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Registration is OPEN for this Friday 3/27 edition of RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?A 4-strike pinball to...
03/23/2026

Registration is OPEN for this Friday 3/27 edition of RoboCop Vs The Walking Dead: Who Is Deadliest?

A 4-strike pinball tournament with a side event! $10 entry fee, NO coin drop. It's a pinball tournament and a party!

Location: Silver Spring MD 20902

Register here on Matchplay: https://app.matchplay.events/tournaments/242406

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Silver Spring, MD

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